Texas Rangers Leading Effort To Expand Arlington Liquor Laws

ARLINGTON (CBS 11 NEWS) – The Texas Rangers want to change where people buy and drink beer, wine and liquor at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and they’ll ask voters and The State of Texas to help them do it.

The first thing they want to do is expand where they can sell wine.

“Depending on where you sit, there’s probably a long walk to get there,” said Rick George, Rangers President of Business Operations. “There’s only a couple of areas in the ballpark that we’re allowed to serve wine on the concourse. Its a real inconvenience for the fan.”

Currently, Arlington’s law narrows wine sales to a couple of kiosks in the ballpark.

The Rangers want to be able sell wine anywhere they sell beer.

To do that, the Rangers are part of a petition drive asking voters to put changes to the Arlington’s liquor sales laws on a ballot.

The initiative would not only expand wine sales at the ballpark, but allow liquor stores to open in the city limits.

The second change the Rangers want to make involves where fans can drink.

Right now, hard liquor has to stay inside the bars.

And beer bought on the lower level can’t be brought upstairs.

That’s because each area has a separate State of Texas liquor license governing what types of liquor can be sold and consumed in each area.

“And we’re addressing that on a state level, the portability issue,” George said. “We’ve got several, multiple permits and we want to combine that into one, so people can transport the beverage of their choice through different levels of the ballpark.”

That means whether it’s beer, wine or rum, fans would be able to drink where they like in the park.

Some fans say they can support the changes if the Rangers can keep the family-friendly environment intact.

“It doesn’t degenerate into a situation where people are getting beer spilled on them and stuff like that that sometimes happens at Cowboys games,” said Skip French who’s attended games at the ballpark and Cowboys Stadium. “I’m not opposed if they give them extra access to liquor as long as they control people.”

Joel is an Emmy Award winning journalist with more than 15 years of television experience. He earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism with a minor in political science. He enjoyed writing at an early age, and by junior high sc...